Owens chides Doheny for Cantor visit

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is in Watertown with Republican congressional candidate Matt Doheny today, touring businesses and helping drum up support for the former Wall Street financier.

Doheny's opponent, U.S. Rep. Bill Owens, D-Plattsburgh, used the occasion to criticize Doheny for accepting Cantor's support. Cantor, a Republican from Virginia, caught some flack from farmers and lawmakers for not scheduling a vote on the 2012 Farm Bill last month.

Here's the statement from Owens:

"New York farmers were hurt and continue to hurt with each passing day when the Farm Bill expired last month without so much as a vote in Congress. Today, my opponent brings to Watertown Majority Leader Cantor, who is primarily responsible for the voting schedule in Congress. By campaigning with Mr. Cantor today, my opponent has shown that he would put his own political priorities ahead of New York farmers."

Owens and Doheny support the new Farm Bill. I haven't received a response from Doheny's campaign, but at a debate in Queensbury last month, Doheny flipped the question on Owens, asking why he hasn't put more pressure on House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to get more signatures for a discharge petition that would force a vote on the bill.